After our rooftop adventure (chronicled previously), we headed down with our new friend from the New York Times to the streets of Brooklyn and the grassy lawns of Prospect Park.

At first, no one seemed to take notice of us — so much so that our reporter friend commented on it, amazed that the presence of half a dozen women relaxing topless in a public space attracted not a single stare or rude comment. But like most things that seem too good to be true, it was: after perhaps half an hour, a police car cruised slowly to a stop alongside us and the officers inside sheepishly indicated they’d received several calls to 911 complaining of our presence. Because, you know. Breasts. Clearly they require armed men in uniform to subdue.

What were we doing to deserve the attention of the police? Sitting; reading; talking; eating chocolate. All while failing to…

While browsing the web the other day, I read this article about Why We Stay In Crappy Situations (And How To Get Out Of Them), on the MindBodyGreen web site. To set some context, I’m a nudist and am passionate about human psychology. I went through various phases of self-analyze, personal development and even psychoanalysis, and I am fascinated by what makes some people do things other won’t. The above article stroke a chord.

First this sentence: “We’re creatures of habit, and breaking habits causes everything from anxiety, to depression, to eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.” it’s so comfortable to stand still, to avoid facing change. When we are confronted with somebody who has a different point of view from the one we have, our first reaction is to reject it. Accepting it or even considering it valid will force us outside of…

Like this:

Ordinary life, for most people, is missing something very good: being naked, for its own sake, while doing something enjoyable with people you like. Because most people seldom, if ever, experience that, they aren’t even aware of what they are missing. Most people who enjoy social nudity say they like it just because “it feels good.” But there’s really more to it than that.

Everyone has experienced nudity in ritualized activities like bathing and sex. However, quite apart from that, nudity is a normal, natural human state that is pleasurable in and of itself. Once an individual experiences this state in routine, everyday situations ? especially social situations ? wanting to enjoy nudity for its own sake makes a lot of sense ? unless inhibitions conditioned by society interfere. When this inhibition occurs routinely, a valuable part of human experience goes missing.

So far the topics being discussed here have mostly not dealt in much depth with what could be accurately described as “philosophy”. Some of the psychological discussions come close, but that’s not quite the same.

Of course, systematic philosophical thinking doesn’t come easily to a lot of people. However, it can be argued that just that kind of thinking can help understand why it is so difficult to explain to most people what social nudity is really about. This post is going to make that argument.

It’s worth suggesting, too, that a lack of some coherent philosophical base in contemporary naturism ? especially as compared to earlier incarnations of naturism from the 1920s and 1930s ? is a serious weakness. For instance, this comment from a generally positive outside observer:

[T]he new nudism, apart from its obvious demographic differences, diverges from that of decades past in that it’s not nearly…

Why am I a naturist? How did I become a naturist? When was the first time I was nude at a beach or a club? It’s hard to answer these questions. Much of it is lost in the fog of time, or was so natural that it’s like being asked when did I first notice the sky was blue.

As far as I can recall, I’ve always been fascinated by nudity. As a child I thought it was strange that people wore clothing. I didn’t like wearing shoes, preferring to walk home from school barefoot. I could recall finding my dad’s stash of Playboy magazines, looking at the pictures of the nude women, I was neither titillated or repulsed. The nudity of those naked women seemed normal, beautiful, the most beautiful thing I ever seen.